Basara Nekki
is the main protagonist of Macross 7 and its subsequent spinoffs. He pilots a red VF-19 Excalibur Custom (dubbed the "Fire Valkyrie"), which is outfitted with a special guitar control scheme and sound broadcasting system.VHS / LD "Macros 7 1" liner note. He is the lead singer and guitarist of the popular rock group, Fire Bomber, and would later be part of the music-based tactical unit, Sound Force. In 2012, he starred in the musical anthology, Macross FB7 Galaxy Flow Soul: Listen to My Song!, opposite Macross Frontier characters, Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee. In the NHK special All Macross Big Voting fan polling which aired in May 2019, he ranked #2 on the top fifty Macross character of all time. Personality & Character Basara is known for his quick temper, as well as his penchant for saying exactly what he thinks, which most of the time is not complimentary. As with all great musicians, he also has somewhat of an ego and believes himself to be always right. But under the caustic personality lies a man who truly cares for those close to him and who has a great love for the human soul. Basara's vision isn't limited to humanity alone, however: his great dream is to make the whole universe realize the power of music. His strongest belief is that music is more powerful than war. Philosophy Basara is a highly emotional pacifist who fanatically believes in the power of music and emotion over physical might. He cares little for anything other than his music, and seems oblivious to events around him; in particular he does not notice the feelings women have for him, including Mylene Flare Jenius and female biker Rex. The only emotions he ever expresses to any degree are wild enthusiasm for his concerts and angry frustration at those who fail to "understand" his songs; the rest of the time he maintains a nonchalant, almost contemptuous air, addressing everyone in casual Japanese language. A free spirit, he goes wherever he pleases and frequently arrives late at Fire Bomber's concerts (often making his entrance via parachute), believing they cannot start without him. However, when alone he sings songs expressive of his moods, the only way he can cope with his emotions. Background Origin Basara is an enigmatic character. He is an orphan who grew up in the mountains of Japan, owning only the clothes on his back and his trusty acoustic guitar, which dwarfed him. His hobby was roaming the wilderness, playing and singing; so strong was his faith in music that he believed he could move a mountain, and would sing to it in the midst of a typhoon.Macross 7 Episode 49, "Singing Voice Resounding in the Galaxy". He encountered an alcoholic ex-U.N. Spacy pilot, Ray Lovelock, and his talent and determination convinced Ray to form the rock band Fire Bomber with him. As guitarist and main vocalist Basara now fronts the band, with Ray playing keyboards, young girl Mylene Flare Jenius as bassist, and a quiet full-blooded Zentradi woman, Veffidas Feaze, as drummer. Valkyrie Pilot ]] In addition to being a good rock singer, Basara also seems to be an exceptionally talented pilot, though the origin of his skill is unknown. He pilots a customized VF-19 Fire Valkyrie, its control system modified to resemble an electric guitar, and its gun firing remote speaker pods which transmit his singing to his targets. Basara disdains weaponry and is annoyed at Ray's desire to fit missiles to his VF-19, though occasionally he uses them in blind anger. In the Dynamite 7 OVA, he has also been shown to be able to pilot a Valkyrie outfitted with a regular control interface, indirectly through the physical manipulation of his regular acoustic guitar while still being able to pull off impressive feats of piloting, a testament to his ability as a pilot. Sound Force In the early episodes of the series, every time the mysterious apparently human enemies attack, Basara drops whatever he is doing and flies into the midst of the fighting, believing that the power of his songs will reach into their hearts and make them stop their assault. At first his music has no effect and his skill in dodging enemy fire is the only thing that keeps him alive, and moreover his interference on the battlefield annoys ''Macross 7 pilots, especially the highly disciplined Gamlin Kizaki. However, his music—and that of Fire Bomber—causes humans to regenerate their spiritual energy, Spiritia, after it has been drained by the enemy. When his methods thus begin to show an effect, he is invited by Captain Maximilian Jenius to join a special civilian squadron called Sound Force, though his complete lack of respect for military rules vexes those who would command him. Ability Anima Spiritia .]]Later in the series it is revealed that Basara and the rest of Sound Force (Fire Bomber) are the new "Anima Spiritia", the only force capable of defeating the Protodeviln and their Varauta army. However, Basara regards the real enemy, the alien beings known as the Protodeviln, in the same way he regards everyone else: rather than destroying them, he wants to win them over. At first his singing appears to hurt the renegade Sivil, a female humanoid Protodeviln in whom he recognises his own free-spiritedness, and when she kisses him she is overwhelmed and driven into a comatose state. He continues to sing for her in an effort to reanimate her, inspiring Gigile, another Protodeviln in temporary human form, to do the same. The two become unlikely allies against the other Protodeviln, and Gigile begins to admire Basara, who through the power of music awakens Gigile's true form. However, Gigile self-destructs to protect Sivil afterwards. In the end, it is Basara's singing what helps the Protodeviln evolve into a Spiritia self-generating race with no need to steal it from humanoids any more. Variable Fighters *VF-19 Excalibur Custom **Known as "Fire Valkyrie". Used from the first episode of the television series to the final episode. *VT-1 "Super Ostrich" Valkyrie **Piloted in Macross Dynamite 7 Episode 1, Episode 3. Uses Maria Hollie's version. *VF-19P Excalibur *Piloted in Macross Dynamite 7 Episodes 3 and 4. Used after installing a speaker system on-board. Relationships ;Ray Lovelock :His father-figure. He helped Basara during his time wandering aimlessly around the galaxy. ;Mylene Flare Jenius :His band mate. He has little respect for her in the beginning, and little still in the end as they constantly bicker amongst each other. He does acknowledge her singing abilities and cares for her when she is in trouble. ;Veffidas Feaze :His band mate and drummer. The two seem to have an understanding. ;Sivil :He becomes fascinated with Sivil, hoping to save her through his music. ;Gigile :An enemy that he wishes to convert to his side through music. Gallery Basara.jpg|Animage cover for November 1994. BClubBasara.jpg|Basara on the cover of B-Club hobby magazine. BasaraMag.jpg|Basara on the cover of MEGV magazine. BasaraBluray.jpg|Basara featured on the cover of the Macross 7 Blu-ray. Vlcsnap-2015-12-22-21h13m00s251.jpg|Basara wants people to listen to his song. vlcsnap-2014-07-26-19h39m20s231.png|Macross 7 Eyecatch featuring Basara. Basara eating pizza.png|Basara eating a slice of pizza. Pacifist.png|Basara being a pacifist. vlcsnap-2014-09-21-23h42m52s52.png|Basara singing. M7 Basara00.jpg|An actor playing the young Basara in the show "Coffee Break". BasaraCard.jpg|Basara in Macross Card Fighter. BasaraEvent.jpg|Basara event in Card Fighter. Dynamite7.jpg|Basara promotional image for Macross Dynamite 7. Catchphrase When Basara sings on the battlefield, it is customary for him to scream his signature catchphrase, "Listen to my song!". The line was also used for promotional posters and program announcements, although the full line "Listen to the songs of my A.D. 2045 galaxy," and similar lines were used in television commercials. Additionally, he also exclaims "Fire" and "Bomber". Yoshihiro Tomita, who worked on Macross 7 says that the first words he had come up with as Basara's catchphrases were "Listen to my song!" and "To be fire." The latter line was not originally used in the main story, and is instead used as to conclude an episode. The anime magazine Animage, Basara's new catchphrases was decided in a contest,Animage February 1995, page 23., and the line "Flying to the Fire, Bomber!" was given the grand prize Animate June 1995, page 24. along with several others. The lines were used during the conclusion of the 32nd episode to the 37th episode.Only the 35th episode did use one of the entries, instead using "Listen to my song". The announcement on the main episode of Episode 36 contained a notice, so the next notice was cut off (recorded on video software). Sadly, the Grand Prize's winner's line was not considered because the applicant's real name and address were not provided. Nevertheless, the winner was still proud of his line.Animage June 1995, page 26. In Macross Frontier, singer Sheryl Nome often uses Basara's catchphrase "Listen to my song!" during live concerts as a tribute to Basara.DVD / Blu-ray Disc "Macros Frontier" Liner Note Bandai Visual, 2008. Production Remarks Shōji Kawamori, the original creator of Macross 7, following the massive success of Super Dimension Fortress Macross and the release of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again of which he played no part, looked back and began questioning the overall themes of the series. He decided to create something distinctly different from prior entries of the series and created the character of "Basara Nekki" with enthusiasm.Hiroyuki Kawai "Interview Shōji Kawamori x Amino Tetsuro" "Macross FB7 Galactic Current Soul I'm Out!" Pamphlet. Although Basara is the main character of the story, his origin and background were hardly fleshed out. Director Amino Tetsuro wanted Basara to be both in the "present and future" with little concern for his own past. His main purpose is to define his way of life how he sees fit, and anything regarding his background depiction is meaningless. During production, Kawamori would draft a profile describing Basara's career and reasons for piloting his variable fighter, but the idea was scrapped by director Amino Tetsuro, saying "A hero does not need the past."Staff Interview 2 Director Amino Tetsuro “THIS IS ANIMATION Special Macross 7” page 55. Following that, Kawamori decided that it isn't interesting to create a history of characters, but to instead gradually explore the character's character and action reason and "make it clear" to the audience. The character name "Basara" was chosen by series composition head Tomohiro Tomita as it not only reflected someone who lived freely without hesitation in his body, but a period of the North and South of Japan. Tomita said he wanted to create a protagonist that brings out and helps burns the potential power that everyone has as a flame. Character designer Haruhiko Mikimoto wanted an eye-catching heroic design for Basara's appearance,Animate October 1994, page 25. and a "manga-like" form for his hair style. The sunglasses were added by request of Kawamori. According to Mikimoto, he senses that Basara's age may be higher than 21 and should have instead by in his late twenties or so.THIS IS ANIMATION Special Macross 7", page 59. Basara eventually won second place in the best male character category in the 17th Anime Grand Prix award given by Animage in May 1995.Animage" May 1995, pages 44-45. He is second only to Kurama of "Yu Yu Yu Hakusho". He placed fourth place in the same category for the 18th anniversary of the following year.Animage" May 1996, pages 32-33. He is second only to Duo Maxwell of "Mobile Suit Gundam W", Shinji of "Evangelion", and Hiro Yui of "Mobile Suit Gundam W". Notes & Trivia *His family name Nekki, as written in Japanese kanji, means "hot air" or "enthusiasm". *In Macross Δ Scramble's Another Arc Mission "Sound Selection 2" , Basara will interfere with a Walküre concert, exclaiming "Music is Passion!" immediately after Freyja's own catchphrase. He will then start playing his songs (only one in the regular edition, the rest will be stock BGM). The object is to drive him away for the concert to continue. *In some Macross games, Basara will always be locked to his signature unit. He can't use other Variable Fighters, Destroids or Zentradi weapons and nobody else can use his Fire Valkyrie, either. *During Macross Crossover Live 2019, one of the bits of banter between Yoshiki Fukuyama and Chie Kajiura had Fukuyama saying that Macross 7 is kind of difficult, because there’s “Speaking Basara” and “Singing Basara,” as well as “Speaking Mylene” and “Singing Mylene,” so, as he said, two people are Basara and two people are Mylene. Chie replied that yes, two people are Basara, but there are actually three Mylenes. ja:熱気バサラ References External Links *Fire Bomber Wiki Category:Macross 7 Characters Category:Macross 7 Category:M7 Category:Singers Category:Guitarists Category:Fire Bomber Category:Male